Family resemblance in fat intake in the Netherlands

Objectives: To assess family resemblance in fat intake in a representative sample of Dutch families. Design and subjects: Households (n = 1077) with children between 1 and 30 y old were selected from the data set of the Dutch National Food Consumption Survey 1992. Two-day diet records were available for all household members. Results: Pearson correlation coefficients for fat and fatty acid intakes (En%) ranged from r = 0.51 to r = 0.61 between parents, and from r = 0.52 to r = 0.72 between siblings. The mean associations in fat and fatty acid intake (En%) between mothers or fathers and children ranged from r = 0.37 to r = 0.50, and they were surprisingly similar for children from 1-3 y of age up to children above 21 y of age. Associations were consistently high for foods eaten at home, and weak for foods eaten outside of the home. Similar within-family associations were found in a set of 1052 households of the Dutch National Food Consumption Survey of 1987. Reported adherence to a therapeutic diet by one of the parents did not erase within-family intake correlations, suggesting that family resemblance is a dynamic phenomenon. Conclusion: Dutch parents and children living together resemble each other in short term intake of fats and fatty acids.